Improvement in roller-skates



l ottant iaite @anni @fitte MATTHEW H. KIMBALL, OF SA FRANCISC,CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JAMES GARVEY. 0F SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 110,858, dated January 10, 1871.

' IMPROVEMENT IN ROLLER-S'KATELS.

I, MATTHEW H. KLMBALL, of the city and county i of San-Francisco, Stateof California, have invented anew and improved Roller-Skate, of whichthefollowing is a specication. Nat-ure andlp'e'ots of the Invention.

This invention relatesto an improved device for applying theswayingmotion ofthe body, as made naturally .when turning a' curve in the actof skating, to produce a turning or swinging around in a plane parallelto the door, of the axle and wheels thereto attached ofthe skate,forthe'purpose of causing the skate to follow a curved line of more orless radius, according to the amount of inclination given the body, or,more properly speaking, the'foot of the skater.- Y

The object of the improvement'being to produce a skate which shall beeasily and eheaplycoustructed,

be less liable to get out of order than other skates utilizing the saineprinciple, and which shall be lighter, more elastic to the tread` andcer better facilities for easy and graceful motion in skating.

Description of Accmnpanging Drawing. Figure 1 is a' side view of myarrangement for a four-wheeled skate.

Figure 2 is an end-view of same.

Figure 3 is a cross-section of my box or bearing formy wheel axle.Figure 4 is a side view of this same box or bearmg.`

Figure 5 is an end view,'illustrating a second arrangement of parts toaccommodate a single roller.

Figure 6 is sideview of same.

Such parts of the skate as are in no way improved by this invention, asthe straps to fasten the skate to the foot, 85e., are not shown.

General Description.

The sole vorfoot-'plate A of my skate may be fashioned in any known waysuitable, and may be of iron or wood, 'or other lnaterial.

The skate may be secured to the foot by any means` having increasedsurface over the axle is-n'ot so liable to cut and wear away the rubberspring or cushion E in which it is imbedded.

I make the-sleeve D separate, and afterward drive the steel axle intoit, or it may be cast on the steel axle, either way being cheaper'thanmaking this sleeve solid with and of a piece with the axle.

To prevent the axlesfrom having too much side play, it will be seen iniig. 3 that I` provide little shoulders on the sleeve D, justinsidetlle'box F, after passing through the slots f.

Of course many ways may be devised to introduce the sleeve into 'the boxE besidespassing it through the slot f, which would beton small to admitit. In iig. 4 I show the slot continued to the bottom of the box to thelower cap o, so that the sleeve can be introduced from belowV before thecap is secured, and afterward little 'metal pieces can be'soldered in,or may? form a continuation of the lower ca p; another way I` showindotted lines, same ligure, consisting of con-.

tiuuing the slot upward till it widens out to be large enough topassthe'sleeve through.

' F is simply a hollow metal box, having the slotted holes' f throughopposite sides, which set at an angle from the perpendicular, as. shownin figs. 1, 4, and 6; through these slots the sleeve carrying the axlepasses.

In this box above and below'the axle will he the rubber cushions orsprings E, which lend elasticity t0 the tread of the skater and produceaction, as hereinafter described.

The box F is securedto the sole A by wood-screws passing through thelugs e.

` The springs or cushions E may beadjustcdto have more or less forcebyfscrewng up the set-screw. G,

fig. 3, which bears-uponl the late H, access being had to the set-screwthrough a ho e bored through the solo A second method is illustrated vinfigs; y5 and 6, where the lower cap a being .secured with screws, whenit is. screwed up the spring is compressed, or eine versa.

My skate rnay have any desirable number of rollers suitable, either eachroller single or in pairs; where v a single roller is usedan arrangementof the bearings will be made as in fig'.A 5, that is a. bearing on eachvside ofthe roller will be provided, which need not be `quite so broadas where but one bearing is used be tween two wheels.-v

' TheI Operatom The operation is as vfollows: v v

vWhen the foot of the skater is inclined side'vvise as iu the act ofturning' a curve, the end of the axle on the side he leans is" forced up.the inclined slotand down the slot on the opposite side;.nowg theslotnot being vertical, this' 'causes-a swinging motion'to be given theaxle,^a s before stated, in a-'plne parallel tof the skating door, whichcauses the skate to follow in a, curved direction.

The axles resting in rubber, a peculiarly easy and springy orelastictread is obtained.

I know of the Piimpton skate patented in 1863, reissued in 1870, butrecognize no similarity between my skate and his, further than that weboth make application of the well-known principle as exemplified in `thecarriage of ordinary use, viz., that of swinging the axle to make thewheels follow in a. curved line, and my skate I recognize only as adiminutive carriage7 forfthe foot, utilizing this principle.

I and .Plimpton use the motion of the foot to turn the axles, but, ofcourse, there is no invention in such application aside from thedeviceadopted to transmit the motion.

I do not claim my skate as simply an improvement on Plimptons,` butentirely independent of his, and as not in any way infringing.

Claim.

I claimlh'e boxes or bearingsli, having the slots fthrongh their sides,with .the springs or cushions E, :is and for the purpose described.

MATTHEW H. KIMBALL.

Witnesses: GEORGE IARDY,

J. D. BRowNE.

